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Out actor enjoys ‘gossip queen’ role in ‘My Fair Lady’

Proving his versatility was challenge for New York-based performer

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My Fair Lady review, gay news, Washington Blade
From left, Laird Mackintosh and Wade McCollum in ‘My Fair Lady.’ (Photo by Joan Marcus; courtesy Kennedy Center)

‘My Fair Lady’
Through Jan. 19
Kennedy Center
$39-159
202-467-4600

Out actor Wade McCollum was born on the road. His father played in a rock band and the family lived mostly in vans and hotel rooms. These memories are McCollum’s earliest and most vivid, more clearly recalled than the comparably conventional parts of his youth spent in Oregon. 

So, it’s not surprising that hopping from city to city with a big musical is both familiar and comfortable to him. For the next year, the 36-year-old actor is playing Professor Zoltan Karpathy in the national tour of Bartlett Sher’s esteemed Broadway production of “My Fair Lady,” now at the Kennedy Center Opera House. 

Lerner and Loewe’s beloved Edwardian London set musical (a hit on stage and screen), adapted from George Bernard’s Shaw’s play “Pygmalion,” is the story of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle who goes to pompous Professor Henry Higgins for elocution lessons. On a whim, Higgins bets that in six months he will not only improve Eliza’s speech, but will pass her off as a duchess at an embassy ball. As Higgins’ infamous Hungarian rival, Professor Karpathy, McCollum plays a supporting but integral part. 

McCollum’s bio boasts a kaleidoscope of roles including the title character in off-Broadway’s “Ernest Shackleton Loves Me.” Among numerous other gigs, he played in “Wicked” (Broadway) and starred as “Tick/Mitzi” in the first national tour of the musical “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”

When not touring, McCollum lives in New York City with his husband, an accomplished artist. 

WASHINGTON BLADE: Zoltan is a quite a character, isn’t he?

WADE MCCOLLUM: He’s a Hungarian dialectician who shows up just when Henry Higgins is presenting a transformed Eliza to society. He’s a meddling social climber, more interested in appearance than the reality of the situation. He’s a gossip queen, really. In terms of function, Zoltan serves as a threat to the goal of the play which is for Eliza to become a believable member of the upper class. It’s a small part but very important to moving the play along. He’s an island character in terms of energy and tempo, a one of a kind Hungarian in a sea of mostly Brits. 

BLADE: He’s wonderfully over the top. Are you having fun with him?

MCCOLLUM: A lot of fun. I like living in that sort of world. It’s grounded in his aspiration to be best friends with royalty and aristocrats and know their secrets. He’s teaching people how to speak properly and hide their backgrounds. But he blackmails them to climb the social ladder himself.  

BLADE: You don’t typically play supporting roles, do you?

MCCOLLUM: Not really.For the last four or five years I’ve been in leading role with various world premieres. I love being the protagonist. But it’s been relaxing and community building to not carry the narrative burden and get to hang out with the ensemble and be part of the play in a more tertiary way. And to work with director Bartlett Sher. He’s brilliant.

BLADE: “My Fair Lady” is a real musical chestnut, and seemingly quaint in many ways. But recently during the impeachment hearings, Russia expert Fiona Hill, who grew up the daughter of a coalminer in North East England, spoke about America and how in England in the 1980s and 1990s, her working-class accent would have proved a barrier to most professional opportunities. 

MCCOLLUM: And that’s exactly the play. And I think she was from someplace near Yorkshire which is actually mentioned: “Hear a Yorkshireman, or worse, Hear a Cornishman converse. I’d rather hear a choir singing flat.” Class prejudice being specifically about dialect is a very British thing.

BLADE: You came to Washington with the national tour of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” in 2013. I remember you wearing some intense heels.  

MCCOLLUM: Yes. A really fun show. The only time I left the stage was to do quick costume changes. And there were many of them. The costumes were great — a finale dress transformed into the Sydney Opera House. And I really liked taking that particular show into smaller towns. Bringing the glitter and that show’s beautiful message of inclusion was a pleasure. And that was before “Drag Race” had taken off and the trans conversation had not yet become ubiquitous. We helped spark those conversations and introduce those ideas in places that hadn’t known about them. 

BLADE: Were there poignant moments?

MCCOLLUM: Numerous examples. I remember meeting a 12-year-old girl who said to me, “I have a little brother who likes to dress up in girls’ clothes and I’ve been mean to him and made him cry. After seeing the show, I think I should love him exactly the way he is.” When this happens, you feel like you’re doing something of importance. 

BLADE: Did casting agents try to pigeon hole you early on?

MCCOLLUM: Sure, I’ve encountered some things. I remember a callback for a big pilot in L.A. I’d just finished “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles on stage. It was a successful show with a long run and I’d received some awards. Casting people knew me as that and I was only getting called in for drag and trans parts. I loved coming in for these parts but I needed them to know that believe it or not, I can play straight guys too. So, at the pilot audition, one of the TV producers piped up and said, “I just have to say you’re not being gay enough.” Of course, there is no one way to play to gay. I wanted to argue but it wasn’t the venue for that. But I did ask, “Would you show me what you mean?”

BLADE: And in New York?

MCCOLLUM: Initially I had trouble with representation in New York. I come across a certain way but they didn’t realize that I’m a transformer. That’s what I do. They hadn’t seen my work, so they were putting me up for queer characters, whom I love and adore, but it was limiting. So, about a year in we had a meeting where I told them I could play all sorts of roles. To prove it, I got a job on my own accord playing a butch, wife-beating logger. The agents came. They all said, “We had no idea.” 

BLADE: It worked? 

MCCOLLUM: Yes. It was a strategy on my part. People don’t know until they know. And sometimes it takes a while for people to know your capabilities.

BLADE: Where do you see your career going next? 

MCCOLLUM: As an actor, my gifts lie in originating roles and being in the room as rewrites are happening. It’s where I’m best and of most service. After “Wicked” on Broadway, I did some large parts in world premieres. After this tour, one of those projects may move forward and hopefully I’ll be a part of that. 

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Theater

Talented pair of local queer actors tackles ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

Ford’s production features terrific score

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Chani Wereley (Audrey) and Derrick D. Truby Jr. (Seymour) in the 2024 Ford’s Theatre production of Little Shop of Horrors. (Photo by Scott Suchman)

‘Little Shop of Horrors’ 
Through May 18
Ford’s Theatre
511 10th St., N.W.
$33-$95
Fords.org 

Ever since premiering off-Broadway in 1982, “Little Shop of Horrors” has drawn a devoted following of avid audiences as well as performers eager to act in the show. Now playing at Ford’s Theatre, the doo-wop, dark comedy features a terrific cast including a wildly talented pair of local queer actors who’ve longed to appear in the show since they were kids. 

Set in the urban 1960s, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s hit show with a terrific score follows the wacky rise of Seymour, a nebbishy florist in a Skid Row shop who changes his fortunes by unintentionally marketing an exotic, human eating plant.  

Chani Wereley, 28, who plays Seymour’s love interest Audrey, a hyper femme downtowner with an edge, has had her on eye the role for years. Wereley says, “Audrey’s been around the block more than once, but I approach her as a person who moves through the world with love and hope.”

The queer D.C. native adds, “On long trips to visit family in Canada or Florida, the first thing we’d do is pop a ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ video [film version] into the car’s VHS player. I’ve watched is so many times, I could quote the whole movie to you.”

After auditioning to play Audrey in director Kevin S. McAllister’s production at Ford’s, Wereley never thought she’d book the part, and when they said she got it, she cried.  

Similarly, Tobias A. Young, 34, the pansexual actor who voices the part of the bloodthirsty plant affectionately dubbed Audrey II, explains his intense interest in the work: “I started watching the film in ’86. Growing up as a little gay boy in Calvert County, Md., I wanted to be blonde Audrey [played by Ellen Green in the movie]. I didn’t know much about musicals at the time, but I was absorbed.” 

When asked by Ford’s to play the voracious plant Audrey II without auditioning, his reply was an unhesitant “yes.” 

Voicing a role requires Young to sing from backstage in a black box rigged with monitors and a mixing board. He says, “people ask if I’m singing from inside of the ever-growing, scary plant. No, I’m not, and that’s fine. But let’s face it, actors love to be seen on stage, but I don’t feel entirely unseen as Audrey II.”

He’s worked hard and successfully with formidable puppeteers Ryan Sellers and Jay Frisby to bring parts of himself to the carnivorous plant — his sassiness, own movements, and even a tilt of his head; their efforts have drawn the actual Young into the show. 

Both Wereley and Young possess gorgeous, emotive voices as evidenced by Wereley’s striking rendition of Audrey’s “Suddenly Seymour,” and Young’s soulful “Feed Me (Git It).” Additionally, both actors are also big on queer representation in theater. 

When her young pals were listening to Britney Spears, Wereley was dancing to retro tunes like “Mashed Potato Time,” and her favorite song to this day, the Shirelle’s girl group anthem “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” As Audrey, Wereley eschews the character’s usual platinum hair for a bouncy brunette, cherry-streaked wig, tight pencil skirts, swing coats, and her very own half-sleeve tattoo. 

“It’s important for people to see themselves on stage,” she says. “Seeing me or someone like me is inherently interesting. Being that person on Instagram or with the institution, cast, or audiences is meaningful. It’s important.”

In 2011, a couple years after finishing high school, Young landed a part in “Dream Girls” at Toby’s Dinner Theatre, and he’s been working professionally ever since. Growing up, he didn’t see a lot of himself – Black and queer – on social media. He now wants to be open and honest for those out there who might not feel seen, he says

An introvert who lets everything loose on the stage, Young says, “theater is a safe space for queer people. That’s the first place we feel safe, particularly in school. And this is why we need theaters in schools, now more than ever.”

He adds, “What’s great about Ford’s is its surprises, especially when they switch up casting. It’s meaningful to see the shows you love, but why not see them with a twist? Using unexpected actors and incorporating queer people just makes it that much better.”

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Woman crashes ex-girlfriend’s wedding to a man in new play

Nonbinary playwright Bryna Turner brings ‘At the Wedding’ to Studio

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Playwright Bryna Turner (Photo by Lila Barth)

‘At the Wedding’
Through April 21
Studio Theatre
1501 14th St., N.W.
$45-$99
Studiotheatre.org

For nonbinary playwright Bryna Turner, the way to theater was first as an actor. But as gender non-conforming, they couldn’t really see a future in it, so they decided to write their own plays.

“At the Wedding,” Turner’s play about a woman named Carlo who crashes her ex-girlfriend’s wedding to a man, is currently making its area debut at Studio Theatre with a production staged by out director Tom Story.  The comedy made its world premiere at LCT3 at Lincoln Center Theater and was featured in the New York Times Best of 2022 “Unforgettable Theatrical Moments” category. 

Brooklyn-based Turner, 33, is inspired by experience, storytelling, and language. With “At the Wedding,” they humorously explore loneliness, estrangement, and a love for living.

WASHINGTON BLADE:  How do we meet Carlo? 

BRYNA TURNER: In the opening monologue, Carlo is at the kids table at a wedding reception telling them not to make her mistake. You’ll fall in love but that will only break your heart. That kicks the show off and this is who we’re dealing with.  

BLADE: How was falling in love for you? 

TURNER: My experience when I fell in love was that I was joining the human race. But then comes heartbreak…. that other thing everyone was always talking about. Poems and music took on new meaning. 

BLADE: But you can find a laugh in pain? 

TURNER: Comedic tone is important to me because that’s how I view the world. I like to have a laugh when things are hard or sad. 

Also, I feel like it’s a way to bring people in. You relate to a character who makes you laugh. Two of my plays begin with a lesbian yelling at the audience. It’s almost like crowd work.

BLADE: Were you ever hesitant about writing queer plays? 

TURNER: I was lucky at Holyoke [Mount Holyoke College where Turner was an undergrad]. Director Brooke O’Hara was teaching there when I attended and she brought in some queer plays; she showed me there was a canon to join and that was exciting.

BLADE: When did you first identify as nonbinary? 

TURNER: In 2022. I’d been butch-presenting for over a decade. Then during the pandemic, I began spending more time alone. When alone, you grant yourself more permission to think. 

For me, I’d always wanted to be independent and not ask for anything, to be butch on my own. As nonbinary, suddenly I had to ask people to use my pronouns. Also, it granted the opportunity to allow people to surprise me in mostly positive ways.

BLADE: Was becoming a produced playwright tough?

TURNER: I wanted to be a playwright at 21 and I had a play produced when I was 27. Now, looking back, I can see it happened pretty quickly, but at the time it felt like forever.  

While doing my MFA in playwriting at Rutgers University, I was working in the box office at the Public Theater in New York where I managed to see things like “Fun Home” and “Hamilton.” 

If I wasn’t working, I was commuting to Rutgers in New Jersey, and I was always writing. I had to be diligent. I’m a perfectionist, but I got things done. I wrote scenes in between waiting for customers at the box office or on the train. It took a lot of energy; drive pushes you. 

BLADE: A while before “At the Wedding,” you wrote “Phases of the Moon” about lesbian poet Elizabeth Bishop. What sparked that interest? 

TURNER: It’s about her time at Vassar College when she fell in love with a woman. It’s set in the 1930s but it’s bit anachronistic. There’s a scene with a Tegan and Sara song. 

Bishop identified as a socialist vegetarian while at one of the most expensive women’s colleges during the height of the Great Depression. I thought to myself, ‘I know that girl, too.’ I love how we can know this person across nearly 100 years.

BLADE: Can you describe your formative years? 

TURNER: I grew up the youngest of four in a small coastal town surrounded by redwoods. It was pretty rural but included an enclave of hippies. Despite being a shy kid, I developed an interest in theater. My parents were relieved. I had tried a lot of things and quickly lost interest: soccer, ballet, Tee-Ball. I remember striking out and all my family laughing. I threw down the bat and that was it. 

BLADE: Do you think about who you’re writing for? 

TURNER: I do. I’m thinking of a queer audience, and writing things that I want to see. In doing that, I’ve been happily surprised that straight people want to come along too.

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Theater

D.C.’s spring theater scene offers ‘Macbeth,’ ‘Peter Pan,’ Sedaris and more

Queer themes well represented in season’s productions

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Out actor Adam Chanler-Berat to play Andrew the archivist in ‘Unknown Soldier’ at Arena Stage (March 29-May 5). (Photo courtesy Arena)

There’s a lot on for theater this spring. And here’s a queer heavy sampling. 

If it’s “Company” you’re after, try the Kennedy Center. The national tour of the Tony-winning, gender-swapped revival of out legend Stephen Sondheim’s hit musical withBritney Colemanas forever single Bobbie is moored to the Opera House through March 31. Kennedy-center.org 

Signature Theatre in Arlington presents “Penelope” (through April 21), a one-woman musical featuring out Broadway star Jessica Phillips. With glass of bourbon in hand, Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, gets a few things off her chest. Think Trojan War. Sigtheatre.org

At Studio Theatre, nonbinary playwright Bryna Turner’s “At the Wedding” is currently making its regional debut in a production helmed by out director Tom Story. It’s a queer comedy about a woman crashing her ex’s wedding with the intention of not making a scene. Good luck with that. Out actor Holly Twyford plays Maria, mother of the bride. Studiotheatre.org

At Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Helen Hayes Award-winning actor Justin Weaks is workshopping his new play “A Fine Madness” (March 17-24)). The solo piece is inspired by the talented out actor’s 2016 HIV diagnosis and the ensuing years he spent alone and processing. (Tickets are pay what you will – starting at $5.)

Also slated for Woolly is “Amm(i)gone” (April 20–May 12). Created and performed by queer theater maker Adil Mansoor, the personal story is about inviting his Pakistani mother to translate “Antigone” into Urdu as means of exploring the tensions between family and faith. Woollymammoth.net

At Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street, N.E., Mosaic Theater presents Rhiana Yazzie’s “Nancy” (March 30- April 21), a tale of ambition and ancestry soaked in ‘80s nostalgia. Staged by out director Ken-Matt Martin, the seven-person cast includes Lynn Hawley as Nancy, out actor Michael Kevin Darnall as Ronnie, and Anaseini Katoa is Esmeralda, a Navajo woman advocating for her community. Mosaictheater.org

Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va., delivers divas. Meow Meow, the post-post-modern phenom from down under, brings her globally celebrated act to the park’s Barns venue on March 21. And on June 8, a single show featuring both Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight promises to light up Wolf Trap’s cavernous Filene Center with legendary star power.Wolftrap.org  

Arena Stage presents “Unknown Solder” (March 29-May 5), Daniel Goldstein and Michael Friedman’s sweeping musical about a woman in search of her family’s past. The topnotch cast includes Lori Lee Gayer, out actor Adam Chanler-Berat, and Broadway’s Judy Kuhn. Arenastage.org

At 1st Stage in Tysons, Va., wonderful out actor Michael Rusotto plays the titular sissy in Douglas Carter Beane’s “The Nance” (April 4-21). Set in 1930s New York, the action follows a queer burlesque actor as he navigates his way through a world where it’s safer to be gay onstage than off. Nick Olcott directs. 1ststage.org

Broadway at the National moves musically into spring with “Peter Pan” (April 9-21). Playwright Larissa FastHorse’s fresh adaptation of the eternal boy’s classic tale feels fresh without losing the familiar including terrific tunes like “I’m Flying,” “I Gotta Crow,” and “I Won’t Grow Up.” Broadwayatthenational.com

Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) presents “Macbeth” (April 9-May 5) starring movie star Ralph Fiennes as the Thane of Glamis, and Indira Varma as sleepwalking Lady M. Staged by STC’s artistic director Simon Godwin, the production won’t be performed in the company’s usual digs but rather a borrowed former BET soundstage (1301 W St., N.E.) where the world of the Scottish play will be created. Exciting stuff. Shakespearetheatre.org

Attention dance lovers! In Fairfax, GMU Center of the Arts presents Martha Graham Dance Company — the oldest modern dance ensemble in the country— for just one night (April 13) with a program that showcases the company’s legacy through iconic classics and new work. Cfa.gmu.edu

Also on April 13, bestselling gay author David Sedaris brings his inimitably hilarious take on life to the Strathmore in North Bethesda. Strathmore.org 

Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater presents Opera Lafayette’s modern premiere of “Mouret’s Les Fêtes de Thalie” (May 3 and 4), an opéra-ballet that broke with serious French operas by putting contemporary characters on stage. Renowned French conductor/musician Christophe Rousset conducts. Operalayette.org

At GALA Hispanic Theatre, it’s Gustavo Ott and Mariano Vale’s “The Return of Eva Perón: Momia en el closet” (May 9–June 9), a dark musical comedy filled with “historical intrigue and spine-chilling entertainment.” (Performed in Spanish with English surtitles.) Galatheatre.org

This spring, Creative Cauldron in Falls Church presents Kirsten Childs’ new musical “The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin” (May 16-June 9), the humorous and pointed story of a seemingly confident woman’s journey through racism, sexism, showbiz, and finally self-acceptance. Angelisa Gilyard directs. Creativecauldron.org 

For one night only, the Alden Theatre in Mclean, Va., presents “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now — The Three Leading Ladies of ‘Hairspray’” (Saturday, June 8) with Marissa Jaret Winokur, Kerry Butler, and Laura Bell Bundy. Broadway’s original Tracy, Penny, and Amber are staging a rare reunion to celebrate the hit musical’s 20th anniversary. Mcleancenter.org

And on time for Pride, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington presents what promises to be a beautifully rendered multidisciplinary event. Titled “Portraits” (Sunday, June 16 at Lincoln Theatre), the concert features visual art, music, and dance, representing a vibrant spectrum of sexual, gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural identities in a nine-movement commission combining the work of nine visual artists, nine composers, nine choreographers, and sung by the Chorus and featuring 17th Street Dance. Gmcw.org

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